Product reviews
Words by: Jarrad Clatworthy
Staying protected from the sun is crucial in Australia. It’s hard to cover up and stay cool on the bike, other than donning a quality pair of polarized sunglasses, slapping on some sunscreen and wearing a little cycling cap. After getting burnt to a crisp on a long ride along the scenic yet unshaded Great Ocean Road (past the 12 Apostles), I thought to myself, “there has to be a better way to stay protected from the sun”. After some research into upping my shade game, I came across DaBrim’s cycling helmet brim which is basically the wide brim part of a hat that sits over your helmet and fastens around your ventilation holes. I’d never seen anything like this before—besides bike packers wearing a stock standard wide brim hat underneath their helmet (normally drenched in sweat too…)—the product looked promising, and I was excited to try it out! I found that the DaBrim cycling helmet brim hits a gap in the market that is yet to be filled, there isn’t any other viable competitors in this space offering the array of sun protection that the DaBrim range offers. The hat was nice and simple to install, with two main adjustable straps to fit it to the helmet – I tried this on a small and a larger helmet and it fit easily on both. Once I hit the road I found that all my shade needs were met (I would still recommend wearing sunscreen) and my head was able to breath as the ventilation holes remain uncovered. The only disadvantage using this product was the fact that in windy conditions my head would whip around depending on which way the wind was blowing (not fun when descending – but this was to be somewhat expected though as the brim isn’t designed for aerodynamic riding). DaBrim’s product page does say that the helmet is engineered to withstand winds up to 35mph however, you can also purchase smaller brimmed options from this brand that might help negate this issue (we tested the sporty helmet brim model). The product carries a price tag of $94.95 AUD (we tryed out the Cycling Sporty model), which might be on the high side for some people, but please note there isn’t any like for like competitors on the market, so for staying sun smart this is the best if only readily available option. Easy to fit, quick postage, good UV sun protection, adjustable, range of colour options High price point, not aero dynamic (blows around in the wind at higher speeds) For purchase in Australia visit https://sunbrims.com.au/
Staying sun smart on the bike
The verdict
Pros:
Cons: